Work

Social Problems

Work and Unemployment

Overview



Modern economy originates with the information

revolution and post-industrial economy

- a productive system based on service work and

information technology

- began in 1950s

Character of work changed:

 From tangible products to ideas



 From mechanical skills to literacy skills



 From factories to almost anywhere

Economic Systems

Capitalism

 Private ownership of property

 Pursuit of personal profit

 Competition and consumer choice





Welfare capitalism combines a mostly

market-based economy with extensive

social welfare programs

Economic Systems (cont.)

Socialism

1. Collective ownership of property

2. Pursuit of collective goals

3. Government control of economy





Communism: a hypothetical economic and

political system in which members are

socially equal

Capitalism vs. Socialism

 Economic productivity: capitalism out

produces socialism 2.7:1.

 Economic equality: socialist economies

create less income disparity but offer a lower

overall standard of living.

 Personal freedom: capitalism has freedom

to act and socialism has freedom from want.

The Global Economy

The global economy expands economic activity

that crosses national borders

Consequences:

 Global division of labour

 Products pass through several nations

 National governments have less control

 Small number of businesses control a vast

share of the market

 Concerns about the rights and opportunities

of workers are raised

Other consequences

 The world's countries are becoming

specialized.

 Governments can no longer fully control the

economic activity that takes place within their

borders.

 A small number of businesses control a vast

share of the world's economic activities.

New Technology and the

Workplace



How computers change the workplace:

 “Deskilling” of labour: Machines make some

some workers and managers obsolete

 Making work more abstract: Understanding

rather than doing is key

 Limiting workspace interaction



 Enhance employer’s control of workers



 Allow relocation of work: call centres

Economic Sectors

 Primary: part that draws raw materials from

the natural environment

 Secondary: part that transforms raw

materials into manufactured goods

 Tertiary: part that generates services

 “Social reproduction sector”: unpaid

labour

Changes in Economic Sectors

Dual Labour Market



 Primary labour market: occupations that

provide extensive benefits to workers, e.g.,

white collar professions and upper

management

 Secondary labour market: jobs that provide

minimal benefits to workers, e.g., low-skill

service and blue-collar work

 “Reserve army of labour”: those last hired in

expansion and first fired with contraction

Labour Force Participation in the

Canadian Post-Industrial Economy

In 2008, 18.2 million people in the labour force

but by Feb. 2009, down to 16.9%

 73% of men and 63% of women aged 15+

are in the labour force

 Approximately 4% are in agricultural work



 Approximately 75% of the labour force is in

the service sector, but much service work

pays much less than former factory jobs

Types of Employment

 Professions: require extensive education

and training – “white collar work”

 Paraprofessionals: have skills but lack theoretical

knowledge

 Unionized work: 1/3 of labour force

 Some is “blue collar” work but highest level is in

public administration (i.e. teachers)

Self- and Underemployment

Self-employment: earning a living without

working for a large organization.

 Includes professionals, farmers, trades

people, and home businesses

 Approximately 15% of labour force

Underemployment uses less than one’s full

talents or abilities

 50% of university grads are in jobs that do

not require these credentials.

 But, level of education is a predictor of

employment

Underground Economy

Economic activity involving income or the

exchange of goods and services that is not

reported to the government as required by

law, e.g., baby-sitting, garage sales, and

illegal activity

 15-20 percent of economic activity

 Statistics Canada suggests 3.5 percent of

GDP

 Increased with imposition of GST

Bureaucratization

 Predicted and described by Max Weber

 Based on rational-legal authority structure

 Ideal bureaucracy has Christmas tree shape

 Downward chain of command and upward

information flow

 Tall (hierarchical) vs. flat (more democratic

and productive) bureaucratic structures

Structural Functionalist Perspective

on Work and Unemployment



 One of most basic social institutions

 Provides social interaction, social solidarity

and cohesion in society

 Stratification and hierarchy in workforce both

natural and normal

 Unemployment is a dysfunction

Conflict and Feminist

Perspective

 Source of class conflict

 Bourgeoisie want more labour for less money

and proletariat want more pay for less work

 An inherent contradiction in capitalism

system

 Workforce is patriarchal: women make less

 Problem of the “reserve army of labour”

 Unemployment keeps wages low

 Women are exploited for their unpaid labour

Symbolic Interactionist and

Social Constructionist Views

 Work is a major source of identity

 Also source of status and recognition

 Social Constructionist: The workforce, work

relations, and how people think about work

constantly evolving

Social Problems Linked to

Work and Unemployment

 Gender discrimination

 Racial and ethnic discrimination

 Inequality

 Work-family problems

 Alienation

Vulnerable Populations

 Sex workers

 Child labourers

Unemployment

 Discriminatory unemployment

 Due to discrimination because of ethnicity or

gender

 Structural unemployment

 Due to socio-economic factors

Unemployment (cont.)



Unemployed increases with “downsizing” esp. during a

recession

 Rarely below 5%

 Official statistics understate it (only a % of those still

“actively seeking work”)

 Does not include “discouraged workers”

 Does not count part-time work

 Some part-time work is involuntary

 Higher for visible minorities and Native men and

women

 Higher for younger men and women

Unemployment Rates

 In Canada, official unemployment rate on

Mar. 13 was 7.7%

 U.S. was 8.1%

 TD predicts will be 10% by end of the year

 “There is no doubt that 2009 will go down in

history as one of the most difficult economic

years for Canadians” (Beata Caranci, TD's

director of economic forecasting)

 Globally, a new forecast by the U.N. predicts

that more than 198 million people will be

unemployed in 2009

Work-related Health Problems

 Workplace safety

 Work stress

 Job insecurity

 Exploitation

Health Consequences of

Unemployment

 Mortality

 Substance Abuse

 Depression and Anxiety

 Increased smoking rate and higher obesity

 Increased risk of violence (esp. domestic)

 Other effects

 Spousal effects

 Effects on children

Solutions?

 Tepperman suggests more job training and

education programs at the societal level and

therapy (for discouraged workers) and

networking at individual level.

 However, when unemployment is structural and

global, then structural changes are needed

 For instance, U.N's Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO) suggests “ten million

[green] jobs could be created by investing in

restoring degraded forests, planting new trees,

building forest trails and recreation areas”

(reuters.com, March 10 2009)

Or….

 An example of a revolution promoting

democratic structural change

 The take (2004)

 Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein

 Produced by Barna-Alper productions and Klein

Lewis Productions with the NFB and CBC

 A video on the effects of economic collapse and

globalization on work (and unemployment) in

Argentina in 2001